should I buy a Blu Ray DVD Player

I need a new DVD Player and I can`t decide how far up the spec channel to buy.

Up to now we have just played movies, but maybe we should be doing more.

All advice gratefully received.

thanks
jjf

 

gosh, I thought I was going to receive some expert advice.

regards
jjf

 

If you have an HD set I would recommend getting a blu ray. I have the PS 3 (Includes blu ray) and its much better than watching dvds.

 

Thankyou, I hadn't considered PS
How does it work out on price.


jjf

 

Not sure anymore. Blu rays have come down a lot since I bought a year ago. Check bestbuy.com.

 

I used to be an avid DVD collector before my cable company offered digital cable. Now I have 9 Cinemax channels -- 5 are full HD as of today-- and I download full HD movies on demand when I get the urge. But that's me.

 

thanks ess.
do you download only from your cable channel or have you downloaded HD from other sources.

jjf

 

Elitetrader is not the place to ask about audio/video equipment. You need to go to avsforum.
That said, I like my blu ray player. Watching a dvd on my 58” plasma is not that great, but the blu rays look fantastic. I have a high end sound system also, which really shows off the uncompressed soundtracks of blu ray. You can use Netflix for blu ray rentals. What tv and sound system do you have?

 

1) If you have an HD TV set (it should be marked 1080p and not just HD-Ready), blueray is certainly worth it (as Duffman already pointed out)
2) A basic blueray player just reads digital recording and sends it to the TV. If this is the only thing you want to do, there will be little difference between players
3) If you want to use it for DVDs to, check how good "upscaling" is. The difference between a basic and good player is massive
4) Blueray disks carry a lot of interactive content and "loading" a disk (from the moment you insert the disk till the moment you can play it) can be substantial, up to a few minutes. A powerhouse, such as PS3, wins
5) If you have a good sound system, triple-check that it performes well when supplied with a digital (as opposed to componenet analogue) signal. If you need a blueraqy player to provide analogue sound, you will have to pay substantially more... up to 3 times more if you wnat the sound to match the quality of a high-end CD player
6) Like any computers, blueray players come with bugs in software. Some of more expensive models can download software updates via internet. Updates can improve the experience with a particular player dramatically
7) If you expect to play DVDs it is worth considering a multirigion player. No player will play blueray disks from all regions but some will play DVDs from any region.

 

try the new samsung soundbar that is supposed to come out next month. this has surround sound, with wireless sub with blu ray and has netflix online which menas you can stream videos right off the net in HD.